Understanding Animals: Big Cats (and Little Ones) 🐅🐈‍⬛

Sleep Tight Science - A Bedtime Science Show For Kids

Sleep Tight Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.4 • 738 Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, we'll answer three specific questions. First, why do cats have those strange vertical slit pupils while we have round ones? Second, why can't lion cubs roar when they're little, but your kitten could meow from the day it was born? And third, what's actually different between house cats and their wild cousins—and what's surprisingly the same? 🐱 Grown-ups: we value your feedback. Our email and message link are in the episode notes—please send us your child’s questions and thoughts. Sleep Tight!, Sheryl & Clark ❤️👂📖 --- ✨ Want more stories and fewer interruptions? Join Sleep Tight Premium for ad-free listening, bonus bedtime stories every week, and personalized shout-outs for your little ones! Start your free trial now on Apple Podcasts or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sleeptightpremium.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Support Us 👉 Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for AD FREE listening and extra bedtime stories! 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Tight Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in Apple Podcasts! 🎉 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts, or share our podcast with your friends. 📢 Have an interesting science topic you would like to investigate? Send us an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , and we may feature it in an upcoming show. --- About Sleep Tight Science We’ve got bedtime down to a (Sleep Tight) Science! Sleep Tight Science is an award winning bedtime podcast that makes science accessible and enjoyable for the whole family. Snuggle in and drift off to sleep while learning about science topics submitted by listeners! Designed for curious young minds (but simple enough for grown-ups to understand), Sleep Tight Science uses big words to answer big questions that kids wonder about, like why do we feel icky sometimes and how do our legs help us move? Learn something new about the natural world while drifting off to dreamland. Have an interesting science question or a topic you’re curious about? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and it might just be the focus of an upcoming episode! Dedicated to enhancing the health and happiness of children, Sleep Tight Media helps families replace bedtime struggles with bedtime snuggles. -- Advertising provided by Starglow Media. Learn more about Starglow Media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Calvin.
0:02.1	Hi, Uncle Go.
0:03.4	And we are from Hawaii.
0:06.3	And we are listening to Please Take Science.
0:09.6	Did you know that your house cat shares 95.6% of its DNA with a tiger?
0:32.4	What?
0:33.5	They're practically cousins, just with very different ideas about nap locations.
0:44.6	Hello, friends, and welcome back to Sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers your questions about science.
0:55.0	Maybe you have a cat curled up somewhere in your house right now,
0:59.0	on a sunny window sill, under the couch, or right at the foot of your bed.
1:06.0	Or maybe you've seen lions at the zoo.
1:09.0	Watch nature shows about tigers prowling through forests
1:13.5	or read picture books with leopards hiding in trees.
1:19.1	All of these animals, whether it's the tabby napping on your lap
1:23.7	or the fierce tiger hunting in the jungle,
1:27.2	belong to the same family tree.
1:30.3	They're all cats.
1:35.3	Scientists group all cats both wild and domestic into a family called Philidae.
1:43.3	It's a remarkable collection of hunters that includes everything
1:47.6	from a tiny two-kilogram house cat to a 300-kilogram Siberian tiger. Some live alone on
1:58.4	mountainsides. Others roam the savanna in family groups.
2:03.6	Some can roar loud enough to be heard five kilometers away,
	...

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